knowing if
I am obeyed or not.
-Dr. Clive.
-Mr. Buckland.
-Mr. Buckland?
-May I rely on your confidentiality?
Good, good.  Good.
-The captain...
-The captain?
Do you think…
How would you describe his mental…
-powers, his mental state?
-I would not presume to describe-
-my commanding officer's mental state
-You can't have failed-
to notice his management of the ship.
I would not presume,Mr.Buckland.
I advise you not to,either,sir
-Ambition is one thing…
-Ambition?  What do you mean?
I'm talking about the indiscipline
of the crew.
-The ship is barely manageable.
-Hasn't it occurred to you-
-that you would be captain?
-What? What are you talking about?
For God's sake, man, if the captain
were declared unfit,
you would be acting captain,
Master under God and all
the rest of it;
sole arbiter of all lives aboard.
Sir.
Matthews.
How many hours is it now, sir?
-Thirty-five.
-Well done, sir.
'Managed 19 hours meself, once,
before I collapsed,-
-dead on me face, sir.
-What happened then?
The captain was a kind man, sir.
He gave me a dozen lashes and
let the whole matter drop.
-Pray God I'm as fortunate.
-Indeed, sir.
-Not that it'll…
-Let us hope not, Matthews.
A lively crew.
Not all, sir.
Some of the men don't like it
any more than I do.
-Watch your tongue, Matthews.
-Sorry, sir.
I speak for a third of the men, sir.
-Carry on, Mr. Matthews.
-Aye, aye, sir. Mr. Wellard.
-You understand you duty, Mr.Wellard?
-I do sir.  Good luck.
I didn't know you were
a dancing man, sir.
Just keep it down, would you?
Who threw that?
The captain will hear of this.
He'll have a right laugh
when he does!
Suppose we declare him unfit
for command?
Suppose we put him in irons?
We'd have to be quick and sharp
about it… if we do it at all.
He'll call on the hands and
they might follow him.
But, suppose we were quick
and sharp about it?
-Surely there must be some chance…
-Sir.
-Horatio?
-Listen.
I thought I'd find you here.
Did you, indeed?
The wardroom is deserted.I thought
you might be up to something
I thought you might feel that
something had to be done...
I'm not sure I follow you, Mr. Bush.
...About the captain.
-What?
-I thought you might feel...
that the captain
wasn't fit for command…
-Mr. Bush…
-…as I do.
I think we're all of one mind,
Mr. Bush.
Well, in that case,I'd be very glad
if you allow me to join you
Mr. Wellard!
I was expecting to see
Mr. Hornblower on watch.
Call of nature, Mr. Hobbs.
Well, I'll just wait a moment
for his return.
He's made a mockery of us.
Officers on continuous watch,
that's as good as a death sentence.
And Mr. Hornblower, here,
how many hours has it been?
It's certainly a novel
approach to captaincy.
-Novel? What about Wellard?
-I like it no more than you,
-Mr. Kennedy.
-So, do we act now?
Do we take a chance…
and declare him unfit?
And in Kingston, sir…
what will await us there?
-A court-martial.
-Why?  Why?  What on earth for?
Well, this is mutiny, Mr. Buckland.
Mutiny.
Well, perhaps I should check
the wardroom-
to see that Mr. Hornblower
is all right.
I hardly think that necessary,
Mr. Hobbs.
Well, we wouldn't want anything
untoward to have happened,-
would we, sir?
Where are they, Mr. Wellard?
And this is the point.
It'll sound different in court.
We've been punished;
that could happen to anyone.
-It's no grounds for mutiny.
-And the crew?
Double rum, make and mend.
It's not for us to criticize-
the captain,
so the court will think.
But when they see him, Horatio…
He's cunning.
And we all know he can talk...
and find a reason for anything.
And he's plausible.
Wellard? A midshipman, no friends,
no family.
What will the court say when
they hear the captain had-
a boy beaten a couple of times?
-They will laugh.
-And so would we...
-if we didn't know.
-We will hang for it.
Twenty-two years,
I've held my commission.
And now he'll break me.
He'll break the whole bloody